Gilles Simon has claimed that all 128 men in the Wimbledon locker room support his view that women players should not receive equal pay at the tournament .

Despite the furious reaction to his comments this week from leading players in the women's game including Sam Stosur and Marion Bartoli, Simon was unrepentant. He pointed to the disparity in prices for admission to the men's and women's singles finals at Wimbledon as evidence that his perspective is mirrored in the wider community.

After he lost in straight sets to Xavier Malisse in the second round of Wimbledon, the No13 seeded Frenchman was asked if many of his fellow competitors agreed with him. "Men's players? The 128 players [in the draw] think like me, that's for sure, if that's the question," he said. "Just ask them."

Yet Federer, a six-time Wimbledon champion, refused to offer his support when asked about the issue on Wednesday. Did this disappoint Simon? "I understand what you say. As I said, it's a sensitive topic. But you media are doing exactly the same – if I take the newspaper, I will see four pages on the men and one on the women, so that's what you are saying. That's what you said the last four years.

"You said that women have no No1, that men's tennis was amazing. As soon as you could finally choose to say something, you just say, 'OK, it's men against women.'"

Pressed again if he was disappointed that Federer or any of his peers had not publicly concurred, Simon said: "I'm pretty sure they're thinking the same way as me. Maybe they can't say it. Maybe they won't, maybe they will lose, I don't know, two million dollar on the contracts if they say that.

"In the conversation – for sure I had it in the locker room – and for sure they agree with me. Trust me."

Boris Becker, the youngest ever men's Wimbledon champion, did offer support for the view, saying: I don't really watch the lower women's rounds, they're not that interesting."

Simon moved to clarify his argument. "My point of view was just about the entertainment. If you just watch how it is working in every other sport, but even for the singers, for everything, you're paid by the public directly. I have the feeling that men's tennis is actually more interesting than women's. It's not because we play five sets and they are playing three.

"Just check the price of the ticket from the men's final and the woman's final for example. It's not about me anymore, it's about the tennis. That's the way it works in life and everything."

Simon found himself under fire from Maria Sharapova, the women's No1 player, and the four-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams. With regard to his stance that the men's game offers greater entertainment, Sharapova said: "I'm sure there are a few more people that watch my matches than his, so."

Williams added: "Definitely a lot more people are watching Maria than Simon. She's way hotter than he is. Women's tennis is really awesome."

Responding to Sharapova's claim Simon agreed: "Of course. [But], I don't have to respond to that. It's not about me, one player, or another one. Maria is more famous than me. I know it. She deserves to win more money than me. That is not the problem."

Given that he lost to Malisse in only three sets would he agree to, say, forfeit 20% of his match fee? "The time is not a problem – it's just about the general thing, about the show. Women said it, I don't know who, but they say they are winning less money than us during the whole season. That's just what I said. If we are not there, they win less money than us."

When asked whether he felt he delivered entertainment, Simon's reply was straightforward: "I don't care. It's just the public point of view, about the tournaments also, the sponsors. You can ask everybody. Not so many will answer because, as I said, it's difficult to talk about it.

"I mean, when that Shakira is singing, she is winning more money than most of the men because everybody wants to see her. That's it."